rethinking publishing one universe at a time

Art of Science Fiction 011: Nicolas Bouvier aka Sparth

Nicolas Bouvier, also known as Sparth, has been an active artistic director and concept designer in the gaming industry since 1996. He is the art director for Halo 5, author of Structura 1, 2 and 3, and has worked on Halo 4, Assassin’s Creed, RAGE, Prince of Persia, AITD4, and created approximately 100 book covers. He lives in Seattle, Washington.

Sparth found inspiration in his vast travels across the globe by observing people and places and daily life, and allowing these varied and interesting cultures to influence his artistic expression which ranges from space to buildings, to robotics and whatever lies beyond.

He has a great passion for contemporary architecture and you can see that influence in his own art. Choosing an experimental and original approach that harnesses principles of contemporary architecture set his work apart from the many thousands of talented artists out there.

Below is a small sampling of Sparth’s art. Each image is linked to the artist’s gallery. Enjoy!

Sparth has contributed to the development of several released games since 1997 and has participated with Narkworks-Studio and other game projects in collaboration with large companies like Capcom and Namco.

In 2003, he relocated from Paris to Montreal to join Ubisoft in their ongoing projects, Prince of Persia: Warrior Within, as well as Assassin’s Creed. He left Montreal for Texas in October 2005, where he spent more than three years working for id Software in Dallas. Finally, in January 2009, he joined Microsoft to participate in the future HALO adventures.

His art is phenomenal. Sparth possesses the ability to make imagined worlds seem real and tangible. When you talk science fiction you need an artist who can capture detail and atmosphere and Sparth succeeds dramatically in doing just that.

Woelf Dietrich mostly writes tales of dark fantasy and the supernatural, which is maybe not such a far cry from his lawyering days. Sometimes he writes other things. He resides in New Zealand with his wife and kids and a dog.